Just Hanging Around

The Subaru lives on again, the valves that once controlled the flow of intake and exhaust on the mighty EJ25D now have retired to the leisurely life of being a place to hang your jacket. This is also the first thing I've built with the Brown Dude in the Forest stamp making this worth one billion dollars.

Fixing a phone

This is less about buildin' shit and more to do with fixin' shit. I dropped my phone on November 6th and my glass cracked, therefore my touch didn't work. By the way I don't have anything really special just some cheap Samsung. 

Lucky for me, Simon came through with a Blackberry. I want to thank him for giving me the phone. He saved me from rushing to get something. But those buttons were too small for my fat fingers.

After some research, I found the screen & touch circuit online, only $17.18 shipped. Today it arrived, after some wings and beer to help fuel this repair, I went ahead and assembled it. After it was all done, I've got it working again. 

 

Brown Dude Builds His Dream Coffee Table

After months of inactivity, I have finally finished my coffee table. All it took was one EJ25 engine, an attempt to clean it myself without making progress before handing the job over the the professionals at Bond Mechanical in Burnaby to finish the job. Then scrounging around for some cheap bolts, a little bit of fiberglass resin, one oil filter and spending some time leveling the table. The glass arrived today from White Rock Glass and I was able to finish it off.

I was a little worried about the space so I sized the glass top a little too small, it still holds enough drinks for 3 people seating sitting around the table. I think I would of been better if it was a little bigger but then I think you'd always just run into the glass. 

This setup is in my den which is located on the lower level and is cool during our unusually hot summer so I now have a place to relax. I will be spending now more time in my Subaru's back seat more than I ever have looking at the wall with all my different vehicles I've owed throughout the years. 

Have A Seat In Memory Lane

Over the last several weekends, I was in the middle of transforming the seats from the old gal into seats that can be used in the house. So I present to you, sitting in memory lane.

My original plan was to put all the seats in the den, but during the assembly of the rear seat I realized that it would be impossible to put everything into the den. I decided to put the driver's seat is in the garage, this should work out well, I now have a place in the garage to sit and put on shoes. Also it's a great seat for chillin' in the garage with a cold one.

There is some storage behind the fold down rear seat. There is enough room between the seats for a coffee table. Wonder where that will come from? Overall I am happy with the build, there was some learning curves with the rear bench seat but luckily you can't see my mistakes easily.

On to the next project.

Reuse & Recycle

Last Saturday, I recycled the car with scrapyourcar.ca. This company seemed the most reputable when I was getting quotes, they purchase your vehicle by weight. Now I have the following parts of the vehicle to turn into something for new purpose: seats, engine and the hood. It's a nice feeling to have my garage back and can do some work in there again.

Death of a Companion August 1996 – March 2014

On Friday March 21, 2014, a companion of 10 years contracted a disease that took her life within a couple of weeks. When she first became ill, her disease was missed causing catastrophic failure of her most vital organ, the 2.5L heart. At 312805kms and almost 18 years old, a rebuilt was not a good option with all her other ailments. I wondered how a timing belt slips, short answer: the disintegration of ball bearings in one of the timing belt gears.

Damaged Ball Bearing

We meet on June 19, 2004, she served me well throughout our almost 10 years together. She handled all the abuse I put her through and even when I was not always faithful to her, she always started up with joy. Over the last few years of her life, she spent months at a time not being allowed to go out and explore the world. Yet she never complained about me spending time away from her.

I am thankful for the last ride to Whistler and back, those winding roads where we hugged every corner and we opened up the throttle on every straightaway. It was a glorious day with beautiful weather and minimum traffic. We were both smiling from ear to ear, tire to tire, the whole drive.

All is not lost, she will live on in memory and her organs are being donated to a new project of mine where she will live on with a new purpose. Stay tuned as over the next nine months she becomes a part of my home.